Don't You Feel It?
by Amortentia42
Summary: Just your typica Drarry fanfiction. Eventual fluff and smut. Non Epilogue compliant. Set 7 years after war. I'm not sure where I'm going with it. Draco experiencing discrimination and abuse from some of the wizarding world. Harry not wanting to accept his sexuality. Angst. Hurt/Comfort. This is my first ever fanfiction so i hope its okay! 3
1. Chapter 1

**Don't You Feel It?**

 **Chapter 1**

Harry wove his way through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, having to stop every so often to shake hands with an admirer with a hurried greeting and bashful nod of the head. Still, seven years after the war his 'golden boy' image was following him around like his shadow and was one of the reasons he put off these excursions until absolutely necessary. Today was one of those necessary occasions due to Hermione's birthday fast approaching and Harry leaving it to the last minute as usual to find her a present. It's not through a lack of trying however. She was simply one of the hardest people to buy for. Books would have been an obvious choice but she had so many already and she had never been interested in expensive jewellery or any other typical birthday presents. No doubt Ron was having the same problem, although Harry felt sorrier for him since Hermione was his wife and so had even more pressure on him to deliver. As he rounded a corner onto a quieter path, he heard a noise to the far left of him down a narrow alleyway that sounded like muffled rough voices and a man whimpering. His instincts kicked in and he grabbed his wand from his back pocket, a habit that he still hadn't lost despite Mad Eye's warnings of losing a buttock in his youth, and ventured to investigate the source of the noise. It had been a while since a dark wizard attack but he was always vigilant, never completely letting down his guard. His recent years of working as an Auror meant that he was still always ready for an unexpected attack. As he walked down the seemingly deserted alleyway the sounds grew louder until he could hear they were only a few feet away around the corner.

"…Malfoy scum", a man spat. "You and your whore of a Mother should have been thrown in Azkaban along with your pathetic Father. "

"Don't you dare call my – "

"CRUCIO!"

The sound of Draco Malfoy crying out in pain made Harry's anger come rushing in in full force for reasons he wasn't sure of but he decided he had heard enough.

"Expelliarmus", Harry cast the spell and caught the wand of Malfoys attacker. "What the FUCK do you think you're doing?" he growled through gritted teeth. The man looked shocked at having Harry Potter standing inches from his face. He had shoulder length thestral black hair and his eyes looked distant and cold with a scar across his left cheek. Probably a remnant from the war. A lot of people still bore the scars both visible and invisible. He looked shocked at being prevented from continuing his abuse of Malfoy who many of the wizarding world still bore a heavy grudge against and who would usually have turned a blind eye but the vexation in his face was beginning to turn into fear at the ferocious anger and disgust flashing behind Harry's eyes. It was so powerful and threatening, that it made even Draco who was lying half conscious and bloody upon the floor take notice and look at in awe.

"He – He's a Malfoy. He deserves everything he gets. You know what him and his family were involved in. How many people died because of their spineless devotion to You Know Who."

"What is your name?"

"Peterson. Xavier Peterson."

"Well, Peterson, it must have escaped your notice but he and his Mother were found not guilty by the Wizenagamot, based on MY evidence. He is a free man to do as he pleases and I'm sure he's not the only one who did things they regret in the war. I'm sure you would have done the same to protect your family – or would you have just let them die? Yeah I didn't think so. The use of an unforgivable curse carries the highest form of punishment so I suggest you get out of my sight now before I have you arrested. And if I hear you have ever done anything like this again I will see to you personally."

And with that, the man dissaparated. Harry, still internally fuming turned to Malfoy who was still led on the side of the path, his nose bleeding and cuts across his face and hands, looking utterly spent. Harry performed a healing charm to fix his broken nose and stop the flow of blood, while also healing his cuts.

"Why…" Draco asked quietly.

"No one deserves to be treated like that. You don't deserve to be treated like that." Harry looked into Draco's silver eyes and saw an emotion there that he couldn't quite read.

"I do deserve it. It's true what he said. I was a coward in the war and by all rights I should have been chucked in Azkaban. This is the third time now that you've saved me Potter. I can look out for myself I don't need your help." Draco said while trying to lift himself up off of the floor.

"Yeah it looks like it" Harry answered sarcastically. "Here, let me help you."

Harry offered his hand but Draco smacked it away.

"NO. I don't need your help. I had it under control okay! Stop being such a goddamn Gryffindor if you could for one second. Just go. We don't want your golden boy image to be tarnished by people seeing you with a death eater now do we?" Malfoy snarled.

"Ex – death eater you twat. And you only did what you had to save your family. But fine if you don't want my help then I'll go."

Harry turned to leave but heard Draco whimper again whilst trying to stand.

"Oh for goodness sake, Malfoy just let me help you!" And with that, Harry put his arm underneath Draco, supporting his weight. It was an odd feeling being this close to Malfoy. He could feel the heat of his breath on his neck whilst he clambered up from the ground and the feel of him pressed to his side was one that Harry missed when Malfoy let go of him to lean against the wall instead. Green eyes met grey and a silence fell between them for a few moments in which Draco slowed his breathing and Harry tried to read what he was thinking to no avail.

"I'm sorry…thank you." Draco mumbled

"It's no problem", Harry sad rubbing the back of his neck, shuffling awkwardly at the new change in atmosphere. Cordiality wasn't something new between Harry and Draco. For the past few years they had been civil to each other when needed. However, this was something else. This was a moment of genuine sincerity on Draco's part. His Malfoy mask had slipped away for the briefest of moments and behind it Harry saw the glimpse of a vulnerable and changed man from the sneering, sniping boy he had known in his youth. He looked weary and all of a sudden all Harry wanted was to take the man in his arms and hold him and protect him until all was right. Harry shook his head to try and get rid of these feelings. Wait…feelings? Since when had he had feelings for Malfoy of all people aside from irritation and suspicion?

"What are you staring at Potter?" Malfoy snapped defensively. His mask now firmly back in place.

Shit he had been unintentionally gawping at Malfoys face for however long his thoughts had led him astray.

"What, nothing. I was just thinking while you got some of your strength back."

"I should have known that thinking would require all your brain power, Potter." Draco jibed. Although harry could have sworn he caught a glint in his eye when he said it.

"Piss off, Malfoy. Are you alright to move now? Where do you live, I don't want you walking home alone in case there's a repeat performance of you getting the shit beaten out of you."

A hint of shock crossed Malfoys face at that. "Why do you care if I get the shit beaten out of me anyway?"

"I told you already. Because you don't deserve to be treated like that. And…" And what Harry thought to himself. And because seeing Malfoy in pain like that is something you never want to see again so long as you live that's what. No. Harry shoved that thought to the back of his mind where it lay repressed but not entirely dormant.

"And what?"

"Nothing. Don't worry. So where do you live then?" Harry asked, recovering his train of thought.

"Trying to get into my bed already Potter, I am surprised." Draco smirked.

"What" Harry blustered as images of what Malfoy would look like in bed flashed across Harrys mind making a blush spread across his cheeks. "I'm not trying to get into your bed Malfoy I'm just trying to help you, you twit."

"Merlin, Potter. It was only a joke. I live a few minutes away above my potions shop. 23 Abbeydale Way, Diagon Alley."

Harry once again put his arm underneath Draco's, supporting as much of his weight as Draco allowed and with that, they walked together with some difficulty and in silence apart from a few muttered directions, to Draco's flat.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry helped Draco through the door to his flat, after walking up the stairs with difficulty, but not having to support his weight as much since his strength was returning. Harry knew how draining the cruciatus curse could be, especially when used with as much determination and malevolence as Peterson had applied it on Draco.

"Ow! Potter watch where you're going will you I almost tripped over then you twit." Draco hissed.

"Stop complaining you can sit down in a second, hang on." Harry twisted his body round in order to position Draco next to the sofa in his living room which he then immediately led down on, still looking slightly worse for wear. Harry took this opportunity to look around at his new surroundings. Draco's house was elegantly furnished, with pale blue walls and expensive looking furniture. However, if Harry was expecting coldness he didn't see or feel it. It had a familiar homely feel to it with comfortable decorated silver pillows and a fireplace in the middle of the room. It had Malfoy's style but not the cold, self-important, aloof grandeur Harry had seen in Malfoy Manor. Which sparked a question in him.

"Malfoy, how come you don't live at the Manor anymore anyway?"

Draco looked up at him, with a look behind on his face that suggested he didn't want to answer that question but he did anyway, and that stirred something in Harry at having Draco's trust put in him, despite him not knowing what he'd done to deserve it.

"I didn't want to go back there after the war. It was my home for years but since, Vol _\- he_ stayed there it just felt polluted. I couldn't go in there again without remembering everything I did wrong, all the death and dark magic that occurred there. It was like it was smeared on the walls and in the air that I breathed. It stifled me and I had to leave. So I decided to move in here. It's convenient for business anyway."

Draco winced slightly as he sat up on the sofa. Harry looked at him with surprise and understanding in his eyes. He knew what it was like to never want to set foot in your childhood home again. The bad memories that it could trigger and the bitterness of how things could have been so very different. He couldn't change the past however. That much he knew for certain.

"Well I like it here. It feels like it's more you than the Manor was." Harry declared.

"Oh Gods if you like it then it must be in urgent need of redecorating. I don't trust your sense of style, Potter. After all you're still wearing those bloody glasses you've had since school." Draco looked him up and down which led to Harry feeling extremely exposed. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, if he ever did, and he was still wearing his work clothes from last night, with a shadow of stubble on his face since he hadn't had time to shave. Draco would never admit it but Potter with stubble was a sight he wouldn't mind seeing again.

"Shut up, Malfoy. Just because we don't all feel the need to prune ourselves in front of the mirror for 5 hours before we leave the house." Harry quipped back.

Draco threw his hand back against his head in a look of mock hurt. Seeing this side playful side of Draco was something Harry was by no means used to and he found himself laughing along with Malfoy for a good while. A foreign experience but a good one none the less Harry thought. Draco's laugh was loud but warm and genuine and wasn't what Harry had expected from the sneering Malfoy he had known in previous years. After the laughter had died down Harry also sat down on the sofa next to Draco and met his eyes still shining with the remnants of a laugh.

"So how are you feeling now?"

"Better. A lot better."

"Good. You know…you've changed a lot since school. Can you imagine this ever happening back then? Me and you actually having a civilised conversation. It would have been more like sharp insults and hexes." Harry said tentatively. He was still unsure of how long this civility would last before Malfoy returned to his usual withdrawn Malfoy demeanour.

"Well don't worry about that, Potter. I can still put you in your place if needed. You may be everyone else's great saviour but to me you're still a specky git." Draco said with his infamous smirk ever so slightly visible on his thin pink lips.

"And I can still beat you in a dual so watch your tongue, _Draco."_ Harry wasn't sure why he decided to use Malfoy's first name but it sounded right on his tongue when he said it.

"On first name terms are we now, Potter? Don't think just because you helped me out of a tight corner today that we're going to become best friends. I don't think the weasel would like that much now would he?"

"No, _Ron_ , is still very much of the opinion that you're a slimy ungrateful prat." Harry answered half laughing.

"And you…?" Draco asked quieter than before.

"I think you've changed after the war. Just like most of us have. You're still a prat and have the ability to irritate me beyond belied but it's in a different way. I don't know how it's different but it doesn't quite make me want to hex you to oblivion so it must be a good thing."

Draco met Harry's eyes at that and for a moment his grey moon like eyes looked into Harry's which glimmered like emeralds in the sunlight passing through the window. It caused Draco's stomach to flip and he knew the reason why it did but he had pushed that truth to the back of his mind. Forced it to lie there in denial in the hope that the feeling would die but it never did. Every time he looked at Harry it would always come back despite his efforts to shut away his feelings. Harry was the only one that could make his Malfoy mask that he had perfected over the years slip off and he hated him for it. Hate as many know however, is very similar to love. Draco had come to this realisation in his years at Hogwarts when he would stare over at the Gryffindor table in the hopes of catching those green eyes looking back at him with anything other than contempt. They never did though. Or the times when the weaslette would sit next to Harry or even worse when they started dating and his heart would feel like a caged beast, growling and poisoning his bloodstream with jealousy which would put him in a foul mood for most of his waking hours. Much to his friends, Pansy and Blaise's despair. A sulking Malfoy was the most irritating and difficult to deal with. He wanted Harry to be his but knew he would never have him and it made him push the feelings away in an attempt to convince himself that he hated the boy who lived and his friends who got to spend all their time with him when they didn't even know how lucky they were. That night he had seen him at Malfoy Manor was one that would stay with him forever. The threat of Harry being killed right there and then caused him so strong a burst of despair that he thought he might have died himself. Bringing himself back to his senses, Draco forced himself to look away from Harry.

"Thankyou. For not being like the others. There's still a lot of people like the Weasel that would prefer that I had been locked up in Azkaban and the key thrown away. Along with my Mother. I never really thanked you for doing what you did and giving evidence to have us cleared of charges at our trial. But it was something that neither of us will forget. We were both extremely grateful for it." Draco said softly and with sincerity, meeting Harry's eyes again as he finished.

Harry looked back at Draco. "It was the right thing to do. You and your mother weren't guilty of those charges. Narcissa actually saved my life. There was no way I could let you…and her go to Azkaban. Don't thank me again. It was the right thing to do." Harry repeated.

"Doesn't being noble all the time ever get tiring? No wonder you look so tired all the time" Draco remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Harry snorted. "Doesn't being so vain ever get tiring for you?"

"Touché, Potter but was that really a snort I just heard?"

"Piss off, Malfoy." Harry retorted holding back yet another snort. Why was he laughing so much with Draco Malfoy of all people? This wasn't just friendly banter though Harry thought to himself. He was actually flirting. Shit. Flirting with Malfoy what was he doing? Alarm bells started going off in Harry's head, which only increased in volume when he accidently brushed against Malfoy's thigh. He felt his skin tingle underneath his trousers where he had met Draco's and had to fight to keep a blush from rising on his face.

"Sorry!" Harry started a bit louder than he had meant to. Draco went pink for the briefest of moments before his usual pale complexion returned along with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Don't worry, Potter. I didn't know my looks made me irresistible for even the chosen one. Although you might want to refrain from feeling me up in public. People might begin to talk and we wouldn't want that to happen would we?" Draco said smirking.

That smirk sent Harry over the edge. He couldn't stop the blush spreading with full force at that and soon he was a brilliant colour of pink which there was no way he could hide from Draco. He needed to get out of there before he started something he would regret. Draco's lips still had that playful smirk on them and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop staring at them. Fluctuating between trying to look anywhere in the room apart from Draco and failing miserably when he kept subconsciously darting back to Draco's lips and then back up to his brilliant shining silver eyes that if Harry was not mistaken, were looking at him in a way that suggested they had achieved their goal. He couldn't. What was he doing right now? He couldn't kiss Draco Malfoy. It was _Draco Malfoy_ for fucks sake. It was all Harry could think of right now though. He was having an inner turmoil in those fleeting seconds that was becoming a war between his head and his heart. His head was starting to surrender to his heart however, and feeling like this was the one thing he had wanted to do for the longest time but hadn't realised it until now, he moved in, his head in a cloud of lust and smashed his lips against Draco's.


End file.
